The Difference Between Your Vagina & Vulva

The Difference Between Your Vagina & Vulva — As Told By Cats

At some point in history (and we're not sure exactly when) the word "pussy" came to be synonymous for both cats and vaginas. Maybe it seems like a weird comparison — and honestly, it probably is — but some feminists and feminist organisations have decided to roll with it. Hence, the pussy hat, and now Planned Parenthood's latest sex ed video series: How To Take Care Of Your Pussy, narrated by comedian Sasheer Zamata and featuring a whole cast of cats.

You see, your vagina is just the "soft stretchy tube inside your body between your vulva and your cervix." What you've likely heard referred to as your vagina countless times before, is actually your vulva. The vulva is made up of all of the parts you can see if you hold a mirror between your legs, including: the clitoris, anus, inner and outer labia, urethral opening, and vaginal opening.

Of course, you don't really need cats to explain this. It's after the definitions are out of the way, and the video goes into an explanation about how differently people's vulva's can look, that the cats come in handy.

Some vulvas are big (like some cats are big), some are small (like some cats are small), some have a lot of hair (like this fluffy cat) and some don't have any (like this hairless cat.) You get the gist. The point is, that just like all of those cats who look vastly different, your vulva is normal no matter how it looks.

"We hope people have as much fun watching these new videos as we had making them," Raegan McDonald-Mosley, MD, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement shared with Refinery29. "And we hope these videos help people understand how to care for their vagina and vulva. We’re here to provide honest, accurate information about bodies, sex, and sexuality without shame, stigma, or judgment — no matter what."